Article excerpt

VATICAN CITY * Pope Francis demoted on Saturday a highly
conservative Italian cardinal, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, who led the
Vatican's department on clergy, but kept in place a German prelate
who wages the Roman Catholic church's crackdown on liberal U.S. nuns
and helps craft its response to sex abuse by priests.

After six months on the job to study the workings of the
Vatican's curia, or bureaucracy, Francis has now put his imprint on
several key positions that help administer the church's worldwide
flock. His management picks, like his fledgling papacy, are likely
to please and disappoint both conservatives and liberals.

In another watched appointment, the official in charge of bishop
synods, the occasional gatherings that bring bishops together to
discuss important policies or regional problems, was transferred to
the Vatican's diplomatic corps. He will now serve as papal
ambassador to Germany.

Just how much influence these synods should have at the Vatican
has long been debated. …